How to choose dog boarding or day care in Halifax and Calderdale

Nine dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Halifax and Calderdale, all licensed by the single council that covers the whole area, Calderdale Council. Four run boarding kennels, three run day care and three are licensed for home boarding (Millen K9 Services holds both a day care and a home boarding licence, so it is counted in both totals). What matters most when choosing depends on which of the three you need.

Home boarding, day care or kennels

Three businesses board dogs in the boarder's own home rather than a kennel block: Millen K9 Services and Freddie's Friends in the Halifax north and Illingworth area, and We Love Pets Calder Valley, covering Todmorden and the Upper Calder Valley. As with any home boarder, only the area and town are shown on the listing; the street address is given once you book. It's A Dogs Life Halifax, at Netherton Mills in Halifax east and Hipperholme, and Yappy Days, next to Sowerby Bridge railway station, run day care from a dedicated site rather than a home; Millen K9 Services, primarily a dog training business in north Halifax, also holds a day care licence alongside its home boarding one. Boothwood Boarding Kennels & Cattery and Toothill Pet Boarding, both near Sowerby Bridge, Croftmount Pet Resort near Ogden, and Sunnyview Kennels and Cattery near Todmorden all run boarding kennels for overnight stays; Boothwood, Toothill and Sunnyview also take cats.

Coverage across the area

Listings are not spread evenly. Sowerby Bridge has three (Boothwood, Toothill and Yappy Days), Halifax north and Illingworth has three (Croftmount, Millen K9 Services and Freddie's Friends), and Hebden Bridge and Todmorden has two (Sunnyview and We Love Pets Calder Valley). Halifax east and Hipperholme has one, It's A Dogs Life Halifax. Halifax centre and Greetland and Stainland currently have no business listed with a verified phone number; several were found in the council register for these areas but could not be confirmed by phone on this pass, so it is worth calling Calderdale Council directly if you are searching from one of these areas.

What the council licence means

Every business listed holds a licence from Calderdale Council, whose animal-boarding register is published as an open-data CSV on the council's own Data Works portal — a legal requirement in England for boarding kennels, home boarding and day care, not an optional extra. Where the register gives a star rating, it runs from 1 to 5 and is shown on the listing; this is the council's own inspection score, tied to how often the licence is reinspected, and is not a customer review, so treat it the way you would a food hygiene rating rather than a Google star. One listing here, Toothill Pet Boarding, is shown without its licence details on the page: the register copy read for this guide gave a licence running to July 2026, which has since passed, so ask the business directly whether it has been renewed before you book. Ask any business you are considering to show you its current licence certificate and its number, and check it against the council's own register rather than taking a website's word for it.

Questions worth asking

None of these are things this directory can answer on a business's behalf; they are worth putting to the business directly before you book.

• What vaccinations do you require, and how long before the stay do you need to see proof of them?
• Do you have a policy on kennel cough, and what is it?
• Do you have any breed restrictions or conditions, including for an XL Bully with a valid exemption certificate?
• How many other dogs, and from how many other households, will be there during my dates?
• How is medication given during a stay, and is there an extra charge for it?
• Are you insured, and can you show evidence of current cover?
• What happens if my dog needs a vet while in your care?

None of the businesses listed here publish a vaccination schedule or a stated insurance position on their own sites, so ask rather than assume an answer either way. See our Halifax and Calderdale prices guide for what the three businesses that publish a price charge, and ask everyone else what a stay, a day or a walk costs for your dog before you book.